Convoy PQ-1 was the second of the Arctic Convoys of World War II by which the Western Allies supplied material aid to the Soviet Union

Soviet Union

The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....

 in its fight with Nazi Germany

Nazi Germany

Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...

. The Convoy sailed from Hvalfiord

Hvalfjörður

Hvalfjörður is situated in the west of Iceland between Mosfellsbær and Akranes. The fjord is approximately 30 km long and 5 km wide....

 Iceland

Iceland

Iceland , described as the Republic of Iceland, is a Nordic and European island country in the North Atlantic Ocean, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Iceland also refers to the main island of the country, which contains almost all the population and almost all the land area. The country has a population...

 on 29 September 1941 and arrived at Archangelsk on 11 October 1941.

Ships

This Convoy consisted of 11 merchant ships loaded with raw materials, 20 tanks and 193 crated Hawker Hurricane

Hawker Hurricane

The Hawker Hurricane is a British single-seat fighter aircraft that was designed and predominantly built by Hawker Aircraft Ltd for the Royal Air Force...

 fighter planes. Escorted by the cruiser HMS Suffolk

HMS Suffolk (55)

HMS Suffolk was a County class heavy cruiser of the Royal Navy, and part of the Kent subclass. She was built by Portsmouth Dockyard, Portsmouth, UK), with the keel being laid down on 15 November 1924...

, destroyers HMS Antelope

HMS Antelope (H36)

HMS Antelope was a British A-class destroyer. She was completed 20 March 1930 and assigned to the 18th Destroyer Flotilla, Channel Force, Home Fleet....

 and HMS Anthony

HMS Anthony (H40)

HMS Anthony was an A-class destroyer of the Royal Navy. She served during the Second World War.-Construction and commissioning:Anthony was ordered from Scotts Shipbuilding and Engineering Company, Greenock, Scotland on 6 March 1928 under the 1927 Programme...

, 4 minesweepers and 3 anti-submarine trawlers. All ships arrived safely.

Trivia

The code PQ was chosen from the initials of Commander Phillip Quellyn Roberts an operations officer in the Admiralty